Hangzhou welcomes more inbound tourists with flexible visa-free policies

China's visa-free policies expanded once again on March 14, with China implementing visa-free policies for ordinary passport holders from Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg, effective until Nov 30. China has now unilaterally implemented visa-free policies for 11 European countries.

At around 8:30 am on March 14, Capital Airlines flight JD606 from Madrid landed at Hangzhou International Airport. As the plane docked, Gunter Kostanberger from Austria and his 17-year-old son easily passed through immigration.

Kostanberger stated that this was his third recent visit to Hangzhou, but the first time he traveled without obtaining a visa in advance.

"Previously, I came to Hangzhou for business trips, so I obtained a business visa." Hearing about China's upcoming trial visa-free policy for Austria, Kostanberger decided to bring his son along. "Once I finish my work, we plan to spend a few days here sightseeing before returning home."

Kostanberger is not the only one benefiting from the expanded visa-free policy; many other people are visiting Hangzhou as well.

After China implemented its trial visa-free policy for France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia since Dec 1 last year, the number of people entering Hangzhou under the visa-free policy for these countries has exceeded 17,000, more than 4.2 times higher than last year.

As of early March, China had signed visa-free agreements covering different passports with 157 countries and simplified visa procedures with 44 countries. A total of 23 countries have achieved comprehensive visa-free arrangements with China. More than 60 countries and regions currently grant visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to Chinese citizens.